Collapsible lamp shade



April 28, 1959 L. FOGEL I COLLAPSIBLE LAMP SHADE Filed March 26, 1956 2Sheets-Sheet 1 IN VEN TOR. Lou/5 F0664 April 28, 1959 FQGEL 2,884,515

COLLAPSIBLE LAMP SHADE Filed March 26, 1956 v 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 I i El IIN V EN TOR. (cu/s F065;.

BY I United States Patent COLLAPSIBLE LAMP SHADE Louis Fogel, Bellerose,N.Y., assignor to Barney Sherman, Laurelton, and Louis, Fogel,Bellerose, N.Y., as tenants in common Application March 26,1956, SerialNo. 573,678

6 Claims. (Cl. 240108) This-inventionrelates to lamp shades, morespecifically to a folding lamp shadewhichmay'be collapsed for storagepurposes.

Up until this time there has been considerable difliculty involved intransporting, storing and handling completed lamp shades. Their largevolume necessitates the use of a considerable portion of availablestorage space for the maintenance of even a small varietyof these items.Furthermore, when these items are shipped, transportation costs arehigh, not because of any particular weight involved but rather becausethey take up so much room. The prior attempts to correct this situationhave been largely unsuccessful in that the lamp shade must be completedafter it is assembled, and once assembled it cannot be folded. It is ofconsiderable advantage to be able to manufacture such lamp shadescentrally in a large factory where mass production methods may beemployed and then to ship them to the marketing areas throughout thecountry. However, the aforementioned high transportion costs have madethis as yet unprofitable. The main difiiculty has been that up to now nolamp shade structure has been devised which permits the completion ofthe shade in one area in such a form that it may be collapsed,transported and then opened up to its operative shape and form withoutfurther work done upon it.

It is among the objects of this invention to provide a lamp shade whichnot only is collapsible but also is of such a structure that it may berestored to its original shape without the addition of any parts,elements or fabric.

It is among the further objects of this invention to provide such a lampshade which will require no additional work to'be done on it in order toconvert it from its collapsible to its unfolded position.

In practicing this invention, there is provided a frame composed ofrectangular supports spaced apart horizontally, links connecting thesupports and a locking holder adapted to be mounted on a lamp baselocated at the center of the circle formed by the upper horizontalmembers and connected thereto by arms extending radially from thelocking holder. The rectangular supports have pivotal joints mountedupon the vertical members thereof, each consisting of a cylinderrotatably mounted on the vertical support with a horizontal opening inthe side thereof into which a link is permanently mounted. The cylinderis permitted to rotate about the vertical mem ber, thus allowing theside of the shade to fold either inward or outward at that point. It islocked in the open position by means of the horizontal arms extendingfrom the locking joints mounted on the upper horizontal members to thelocking holder located at the center of the circle formed by the upperhorizontal members. The aforementioned locking joints consist of pairsof notched cylinders, one rotatably mounted and the other rigidlymounted on the horizontal member. The horizontal arms are permanentlymounted in the rotatable cylinder and the whole is so interfitted andproportioned that the notches on the respective cylinders lock againstone another, preventing further upward rotation about the horizontalmember at the point when the arms are in a horizontal position.

The locking holder comprises two disks, one surmounting the other andcoextensive with it. The lower disk has one radial hole in its side intowhich one of the aforementioned arms is permanently fitted. The upperdisk is adapted to rotate about its axis with respect to the lower disk,and contains a plurality of radial slots corresponding to the number ofarms. These slots are so positioned that they coincide with openings inthe lower disk adapted to receive the ends of the horizontal arms,permitting the arms to pass through them and locking on the lower disk,said arms being provided with hooks at the extremity nearest the lockingholder for this purpose. The rotatable npper disk upon turning so thatthe radial slots are no longer alined with the corresponding openings inthe lower disk, completes the locking arrangement.

In operation, the lamp shade may be collapsed by first rotating theupper disk of the locking holder until the slots therein are inalinement with the openings in the lower disk. The arm which ispennanentlyaffixed to the locking holder is then allowed to rotatedownward, the remaining arms passing through the openings in the upperdisk and then also rotating downward until they are parallel to thevertical members of the rectangular supports. The rectangular supportsare then folded in or out, as is required to effectuate .anaccordion-like fold, thus compressing the shade into a very smallvolume.

To open the shade, it is only necessary to open vthe accordion folds,raise the arm permanently connected to the locking holder, at the sametime inserting the remaining arms into the radial slots in the upperlocking disk, passing through the upper locking disk and locking inplace in the lower locking disk. A turn ofthe upper disk serves to lockthe entire structure in place, making the whole rigid and serviceable.

The accompanying sheets of drawings constitute a part of this inventionin which like reference characters indicate like parts, and in whichFig. 1 shows the lamp shade in perspective in its unfolded or functionalposition;

'Fig. 2 shows the lamp shade partly folded;

Fig. 3 is a perspective drawing of the lamp shade in its fully foldedposition;

Fig. 4 is a perspective drawing of one pivotal joint;

Fig. 5 is a cross-section of that joint;

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of the locking holder with the top disk sopositioned that the horizontal arms may be slipped either in or out;

Fig. 7 is a perspective drawing of the locking holder in its lockedposition;

Fig. 8 is a cross-sectional view of Fig. 7;

Fig. 9 is a perspective view of a locking joint;

Fig. 10 is another perspective view of a lockingjoint, showing the armin its vertical 'or'folded position; and

Fig. 11 is a section of the locking joint.

The lamp shade is provided with a plurality of rectangular supportscomposed of elements 1, 2, 3, 4, connecting links 5 and 6, saidconnecting links being rigidly mounted in pivotal joints 7, 8, 9, 10, 19and 3S; arms ll, 12, 13 and 14 rigidly mounted in locking joints 15, andlocking holder 16 permanently mounted on arm H. and adapted to receivearms 12, 13 and 14. The whole is provided with a cover 17 of anysuitable decorative material. Each pivotal joint is composed of acylinder 13 through which vertical member 2 passes axially, and anopening in the side thereof into which link 5 is rigidly mounted.Cylinder 18 is adapted to rotate about its axis so that the entire panelmay be folded.

Each of identical locking joints 15, 32, 33 and 34 is composed ofrigidly mounted cylinder 20 and rotatably mounted cylinder 21, eachcontaining a notch 22. Cylinder 20 is prevented from rotating by pin 23which passes through the cylinder and through horizontal member 1; therotatably mounted cylinder 21 is provided with a hole into which arm 11is permanently fitted; the hole and cylinders 20 and 21 being sopositioned that the notch on the rotatable cylinder 21 bears against thenotch of cylinder 20 when arm 11 is horizontal, thus preventing arm 11from rotating upward past the horizontal.

The locking holder is composed of ring 25 and locking disk 24, which isadapted to rotate with respect to ring 25. Locking disk 24 is providedWith slots 26, 27 and 28, through which arms 12, 13 and 14 may pass intoopenings 29 in ring 25 adapted to receive them. Arms 12, 13 and 14 areprovided with hooks 30 which prevent them from sliding out of openings29. Arm 11 is rigidly and permanently afiixed to ring 25 at 31.

To fold this lamp shade, locking disk 24 is rotated about its axis untilslots 26, 27 and 28 are alined with slots 29. Then arm 11 is depressed,permitting arms 12, 13 and 14 to be lifted free of locking holder 16.Arms 12, 13 and 14 and arm 11, together with locking holder 16, arepermitted to rotate about locking joints 15, 32, 33 and 34, respectivelyuntil they are substantially vertical. The sides of the shade are thenfolded accordion-wise at the pivotal joints, such as 7 and 8. To unfold,first the accordion folds are opened, then arms 11, 12, 13 and 14 areraised to approximately a horizontal position. Arms 12, 13 and 14,provided with hooks 30, are passed through slots 26, 27 and 28 intoslots 29 and locking disk 24 is rotated so that slots 26, 27 and 28 areno longer in alinement with slots 29.

While only one specific embodiment of this invention has been described,nevertheless the principle may be applied in other ways withoutdeparting from the spirit of this device. For example, instead of aplain drum shade as is illustrated, such variations as bell shades,scallops, galleries, V-cuts, waterwaves, out-curves, loops, diamonds orany other shape, form or style which may be aesthetically pleasing orpopular in the lamp shade industry may be used. Although an octagonalshade with curved horizontal supports and links is described here, thisinvention is by no means limited to such shape, but a round, square,hexagonal, decagonal, or other polygonal shape may be provided. It isWell-known in the art that the forms of lamp shades vary greatly withthe vagaries of style and it is not without the scope of this inventionto substitute another such style for the one described.

These and other changes may be made in the details of the invention,which is to be broadly construed and not to be limited except by thecharacter of the claims appended hereto.

What is claimed is:

' 1. A folding lamp shade comprising a frame and finishing materialaffixed to said frame, said frame when mounted on a lamp base beingcomposed of substantially rectangular supports, locking joints on thehorizontal portions of some of said supports, said supports being spacedapart horizontally, links connecting adjacent supports and constitutingadditional rectangular supports, a locking holder adapted to be mountedon said lamp base, radial arms extending from said locking holder andattached to at least some of said locking joints, and means on saidrectangular supports for permitting the shade to fold accordion-wise.

2. A folding lamp shade comprising a frame and finishing materialafiixed to said frame, said frame when mounted on a lamp base beingcomposed of substantially rectangular supports comprising horizontal andvertical members, said supports being spaced apart horizontally, linksconnecting adjacent supports and constituting additional rectangularsupports, a locking holder adapted to be mounted on said lamp base,radial arms extending from said locking holder and attached to lockingjoints, pivotal joints consisting of cylinders rotatably mounted onvertical members of said supports, said joints having a horizontalopening in the side thereof into which said links are fitted.

3. A lamp shade according to claim 2 in which the said pivotal jointsare located near each corner of each of said rectangular supports.

4. A lamp shade according to claim 2 in which said joints consist ofpairs of notched cylinders, one of each pair rigidly mounted and theother rotatably mounted on some of the upper horizontal members andlinks of the frame, and a hole in the side of each rotatable cylinderinto which the radial arms fit permanently, said cylinders and holesbeing so positioned that the notch on the rotatable cylinder preventssaid cylinder and said arms from further rotation upward by hearingagainst the notch on the right cylinder when the said arms arehorizontal.

5. A lamp shade according to claim 2 in which the locking holdercomprises an annular ring, an annular locking disk coextensive with andsurmounting the ring and adapted to rotate about its axis relative tothe said ring, a hole in the side of the ring in which one arm ispermanently mounted, said locking disk being provided with radialopenings adapted to permit the other radial arms to pass through saidlocking disk, hooks on the ends of said other radial arms adjacent tothe locking holder, notches in the fixed ring adapted to receive saidhooked ends, the shade so proportioned that by rotating said lockingdisk, the radial arms are locked in the horizontal position.

6. A lamp shade according to claim 2 with four radial arms and fourrectangular supports separated from each other by four sets of links,said links affixed at the top and bottom of each rectangle.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS480,989 Berthelemy Aug. 16, 1892 1,452,773 Amores Apr. 24, 19231,673,665 Cruse June 12, 1928 2,538,676 Enright Jan. 16, 1951 FOREIGNPATENTS 16,839 Great Britain 1909 1,042,050 France June 3, 19531,072,877 France Mar. 17, 1954

